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Friday, June 10, 2011

Game Day Beer Review: Sam Adams' Infinium Biere de Champagne

(10.30% ABV) Well, I finally had it: the Sam Adams Infinium. It's not every day you drink a $20 bottle of beer.

Stashed away in the upper reaches of my wine refrigerator, with the large formats and the bottles of champagne, this particular bottle had rested for several months, along with the thought gnawing away in the back of my head the entire time: Infinium needs to be drunk prior to July 2011. But what's the right occasion? In the end I decided it's kind of like the US Supreme Court's definition of pornography: you'll know it when you see it. And that occasion finally arived, along with an unexpected visit from some out-of-town friends, this past weekend. But would the bottle live up to the considerable hype?

Soon, the bottle was opened and here's what I found: I poured the Sam Adams' Infinium from the well designed 750 ml bottle into a pilsner glass, all the better to showcase the steady stream of champagne-like bubbles which are a prominent feature of the beer. It poured a deep golden color, with a fat, three-fingered head of luscious white foam.

The beer was extremely yeasty smelling, with the strong scent of lemons and straw evident on the nose. But it's the taste that was really different: Wow! Infinium is tart, with a strong lemon zest. It's also highly carbonated, with a mouthfeel that stands up to its promised vision. It started sour and finished sweet, maybe a bit too sweet for my liking. I don't know that I could drink more than one of these.

It's unusual and daring, and I give Sam some credit for trying to pull it off, but I don't think I'll be back for more: B-, but worth a try.....